


Basic

by liz_the_terrible



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Fluff, Gen, im not lying this time it really is nonsense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27701003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liz_the_terrible/pseuds/liz_the_terrible
Summary: In which Izaya makes a friend. Kate. Yknow. Kate? From Kansas?
Kudos: 2





	Basic

Izaya rapidly typed on his computer as Namie entered the apartment with a stranger in tow. “Namie, who is this?” He looked up to see Namie standing next to a tall, slightly pudgy, dark skinned woman with thick curls pulled back in a bun. The stranger shifted nervously and held a cellophane covered round dish in her hands.  
“She says she knows you.” Namie turned to the woman standing next to her, “My condolences, Kate, that you got mixed up with this numskull.”  
“Friendly as ever.” Izaya looked back at his monitor and absently waved Namie away, “You can go for the day” Before he finished his sentence he heard Namie walk out and slam the door behind her, “…and she’s gone” Izaya sighed, leaned back in his desk chair, and lazily spun to face the intruder.  
“Sorry, is this a bad time?” Kate’s nerves were breaking through her voice.  
“No, not at all.” Izaya spread his arms in welcome, “Is there something you wanted to discuss…..umm….”  
“Kate. You really don’t remember?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.  
Izaya thought for a moment. Usually the names and faces he erased from his memory didn’t come back into his life.  
“The coffee shop?” She pressed, “Thursday?” Kate paused to give Izaya a moment to remember, but upon seeing his brow knit in confusion she continued, “I invited you to Mai’s party? Nothing?”  
“Sorry, I’m drawing a blank”  
Kate sighed, “Well anyway I brought you a thank you gift for the party. You may not remember but I certainly do.” Her face lit up, “I’ve been trying to get Mai to break up with that douche-bag for years! Then you come along and do it with one conversation!”  
a vague memory was beginning to surface:

“Oh please, you two don’t love each other” Izaya said to a woman in a skin tight club dress with a blue streak in her shoulder length hair who’s rage was steadily increasing over the course of their conversation. The small apartment was packed with people. Noise from music and conversation choked the walls.  
“What?!” Mai sloshed the drink out of her cup as she jabbed at Izaya’s chest, “Listen, asshole, what the ever-loving fuck do you know about love?”  
Izaya shrugged, “Frankly, not much.” He said nonchalantly, “But I know how people in love behave, I know what it does to people. And you two are just going through the motions, trying to convince yourselves that this whole affair hasn’t been a complete waste of time.” The noise of the crowd began to fade, “Tell me, what is it that keeps you two together at all? It can’t be the sex because it’s so painfully obvious you’ve been cheating on each other for quite some time now. No, then it must be the habit? Or fear. Fear can be quite a strong motivation to keep putting yourself through pain.”  
“Who the fuck do you think you are, you fucking lunatic! Get--“  
Izaya cut her off, “Mai, you’re just afraid that if you find yourself alone you won’t know who you are or what you want because your entire life has revolved around this guy’s inadequacy.” He sighed, “It’s such a shame, really. They say variety is the spice of life and you’re wasting it on a loveless trifle.” He scoffed. The air had grown dense with anticipation from the onlookers, “I’m sure you’ve already imagined the nightmare: having kids with him, growing old, carrying him through life, slowly coming to the realization that you’ve never been happy, not once, that you’ve spent all this time on earth wasting your meaningless existence living it for someone who you never did and never will love!” The excitement in his voice edged towards delirium, “I mean, I’ve only known you for what? An hour? And already it’s bothersome, I can only imagine the annoyance your friends put up with.” As he continued his diatribe, an angry man stepped over to join the conversation. “Hell, I know mortal enemies that love each other more than you and Ryan! I know a man who loves his vase collection more than you’ve ever loved this useless---“  
The man grabbed Izaya by his collar, “That’s enough, asshole”  
“You must be Ryan.” Izaya laughed, “Is this you trying to be intimidating? It’s so human to respond to the truth with anger! I love it! So cute!”  
“What the fuck is your problem, huh?!” the man pushed Izaya away like he was some insect. Izaya just leveled an empty gaze at him and smiled.  
“You’re fucking crazy! Get the fuck out of here!”  
Izaya shrugged and obliged, dodging a beer bottle being thrown at his head as he walked out the door.

“Wait…ah yes, I remember now.” Izaya smiled to himself.  
Kate beamed, “Yeah, so after you left they were so mad. I mean, literally going for each other’s throats it was hilarious. All this rage just boiled over instantly and everyone left within the next ten minutes.” She laughed, “I stayed because Mai wanted to talk to me.” Kate rolled her eyes, “Ugh. She was bitching and shit like ‘Who the fuck was that guy why the fuck would you even hang out with someone like that. He’s fucking insane.’ I mean what room does she really have to talk, am I right? Not like she's a great judge of character, either so I'm just like ‘well, Mai, he may be crazy but at least he’s interesting. Honestly if I had to hear one more story about how you cheated on Ryan and felt oh so guilty about it I was going to throw you through a wall.’ Then she just glares at me like this death glare and is like ‘Get back to that asylum where you found your new boyfriend you bitch’ and I'm just like whoa well okay I’d rather be around crazy people than these morons anyway.” She held out the dish to Izaya, “So yeah, I made you a pie to thank you. Strawberry rhubarb. You seem like the type to like bitter stuff.”  
Izaya had never met anyone so goddamn determined to be his friend. He’d had groupies, sure. But no one ever thanked him, much less gave him gifts.  
Kate put the pie down on his desk and turned to examine the endless shelves of books, “Man, look at all these! World mythologies, history books, biographies, is that a full collection of modern encyclopedias? Wow, you must know a lot of stuff.” Kate sighed, “I have like two dozen novels sitting at my place I’ve never even touched.”  
“Information is my trade. I try to absorb as much of it as possible. There’s so much in the world to learn.” Izaya stretched and laced his fingers behind his head.  
“How is information your trade?” She looked at him, puzzled.  
“People pay me to find things out for them.” He shrugged.  
“What kind of things?”  
Izaya leaned forward and propped his elbows on his desk, “I prefer to keep my clients confidential.”  
“So are you some kind of private investigator or something?”  
“That’s one way of looking at it.”  
“Huh, I’ve never met one of those before.”  
“Now you have. In a sense.”  
Kate continued to study the shelves, “Oh, a DSM!” She picked the book off the shelf and flipped through it, “You know, my friend back home bought one of these and for like, weeks, she thought she was a psychiatrist,” She rolled her eyes as she replaced the book on the shelf, “She thought she could just run around diagnosing everyone. Like, ‘oh, you have bipolar or borderline or whatever blah blah disorder’ god, she was so annoying. Like, okay bitch, I’ve already had a psychiatrist and you’re no doctor, y'kno?”  
Izaya strode over to stand beside Kate, “I consider myself an admirer of the human condition. Where are you from, Kate? At a guess, I’d say, USA somewhere?”  
“Nailed it on the first try! Nice!” She put her hand up for a high five.  
Izaya was not used to the gesture, but returned it anyway.  
“I came here to study literature for college and liked it so much, I just never left. We don’t have those shrines and stuff out in Kansas. Or mountains. It’s mostly wheat and cows and bigots.”  
“You studied literature but you don’t read books?”  
Kate laughed, “I know, right? Well, you know how it is, like sometimes you spend so much time reading and stuff it’s like, okay, cool. And once you don’t have to, you get all distracted with everything else.” She sighed, “Maybe I should start a book club and work through my book buying problem?” she mused to herself.  
Izaya shrugged.  
Kate started, suddenly distracted, “Oh, we should get that pie in the fridge! Or have a slice? I swear it’s good, it’s one of my grandpa’s recipes and man did he know how to cook! Too bad the only thing I can make is pie. Which, now I think of it, doesn’t seem like a big thing here.”  
“Oh, it’s fine, really. People don’t usually bake for me.” He glanced over at the dish sitting on his desk. “Should we have some coffee to go with it?”  
“Pie is best served with warm drinks,” she agreed, “Do you need a hand?”  
“Oh no,” Izaya dismissed as he strode to the kitchen, “Just make yourself comfortable.”  
Kate stayed looking at the shelves, studying every volume, “Ugh can you believe the nerve Mai has? Like calling you my ‘new boyfriend’ as if I’m not the gayest person she’s ever met.”  
“I have to say, that’s a relief, I’m not generally the dating type.” he replied from the kitchen.  
“Speaking of, is Namie single? She seemed so nice, and very pretty.”  
“You don’t want to get mixed up in that mess. Nice is not the word I would use to describer her, and I can’t say her looks ever stood out to me.”  
“Oh man, what a terrible guest I’m being! I should be getting plates or something. Is there anything I can do?”  
“No, I think I have it handled, just take a seat on the couch, relax.” Man, she was determined.  
“If you’re sure.” She hesitated.  
“Of course.” Izaya realized that a guest wanted to spend time with him. He didn't trust it. There must be something she came here for, right? But if that wasn't the case then this was kind of exciting. And new? Izaya walked over to the couch, two cups of coffee in one hand and two plates, a knife, and two forks in the other. He set them all down on the coffee table, “Now why don’t we try that delicious pie you made?” He walked over and pulled the dish off the desk, bringing it to their makeshift dining area. As soon as he lifted the cellophane covering, the aroma filled the room. He sliced it up and set a piece aside for each of them. As he took the first bite, he had to admit it was rather good, “It seems you were right about the pie.”  
“I know, right?” Kate replied, trying to cover her mouth full of food, crumbs spilling out onto her plate. She swallowed and laughed, “I would never, never, lie about pie.”  
“I suppose everyone needs to draw a line somewhere.”  
Kate laughed again, “You’re funny, you know that?” She finished her slice and replaced her plate on the table.  
What? “I think you’re just trying to flatter me.” he put his empty plate back on the table and turned to face Kate on the couch, coffee in hand.  
“No, like, really. You must have like, so many friends.”  
“I’m usually too busy for social calls.”  
“Oh, that's a shame. You know, it’s so hard to make friends out of college. I think you’re the first new friend I’ve had since I graduated, if I’m being honest.”  
“I never knew pie could bond people so quickly.”  
“Never underestimate the power of a good shared dessert. That’s key to any relationship.”  
Izaya paused, “What was it you were saying earlier about a book club?”  
“Oh! That was just an idea, you know. Not like I know anyone to start it with, most of my friends are busy going around to clubs and shit. I just don’t have the personality for it, y'kno? Like that stuff is so boring so quick and I’m just sitting there drunk and annoyed and like waiting for my friends to call it a night. Hell, half the time I just leave and go back home or like visit a shrine or something.”  
He thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, “Maybe we could do the book club together.”  
“I hadn’t even thought of that! That’s a great idea! Do you know anyone who would be interested?”  
“Can’t say that I really do, I’m afraid.”  
“That’s alright, it’ll be less of a club, more of an excuse to hang out together. I can get behind that. Your life seems a lot quieter than my other friends’, which, I tell you, is a welcome reprieve. I told Mai if clubs and parties were the only way to spend time with her then we wouldn’t be friends much longer.”  
“So what happened with Mai after the party, anyway?”  
“Oh, we still talk. Well, sort of. She’s still pretty mad at me. But it’ll blow over, I’m sure. We’ve been friends since before I moved here so I doubt she’ll be angry forever, y'kno? She helped me learn Japanese, after all, which I still sometimes feel a little shaky on. But, that kind of bonding can’t disappear over a little fight. Though that asylum thing was a low blow, I’ll tell you what. But she was drunk so I doubt she meant it.”  
“Your Japanese sounds fine to me.”  
“You’re just being nice” Kate blushed.  
“No, really, like you’ve been speaking it your whole life.”  
“Nice, funny, smart, and cute. There’s no way you’re single.”  
“I thought you said you were gay.”  
“That don’t mean I’m blind, dude.”  
“I have to say, I don’t think anyone has accused me of being nice before.”  
“Yeah, well, first time for everything, you know?”  
“I suppose so.”  
“So, are you seeing anyone? I’m just curious is all.”  
“Can’t say I am. Or ever have, really. It was never something that appealed to me.”  
“That’s alright, plenty of people out there are like that. I’ve got this one friend, Akiko, who’s always talking about how she’s asexual and stuff. She’s not interested in relationships either.” Kate got distracted by a text on her phone, “Oh shit, is that the time?” She fretted, “Man, just when we were having so much fun. Give me your number so we can hang out again, okay?”  
“And start that little book club.” He reminded her.  
“Of course!” She beamed, “Alright, I’ve really got to be going. I’ll text you, alright?”  
“Sounds lovely.”  
Kate walked out the door, leaving Izaya alone again. “Huh,” He said to himself, “What a strange woman. Where is Kansas, again?”

**Author's Note:**

> Brain needed a break from the corners i back myself into with LtT. Found this old draft on my harddrive after waking up at 230 am. Turns out I still like this idea, it's been really fun to write.


End file.
